What It’s really like at the Carolina Country Music Fest

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If you’ve never heard of the Carolina Country Music Fest (CCMF) before, it’s a huge country music festival in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The music festival is an annual event and is held during the first part of June. Some of country’s biggest and upcoming music artists perform there and attracts a massive crowd of people from all over the world!

If this sounds like something you want to check out, you definitely should! But, I’ve attended CCMF twice so far and have experience with the festival. So I want to help understand what it’s really like at the Carolina Country Music Festival.

There are so many people.

As I mentioned before, a music festival that has some of countries biggest artists performing there draws a massive crowd for a small, one block area. Yes, at CCMF, you’ll be in a one block area with around 20-30 thousand other people. It’s not so bad during the day when up-and-coming artists are playing on the smaller stages and people are walking around and checking out the vendors. 

However, once the sun starts to go down and it’s almost time for Kenny Chesney, Luke Bryan, or another legendary singer to hit the stage, watch out. People all smash together to get as close as humanly possible to the big, main stage area. I should mention here that only VIP ticket holders can access the area that is right at the main stage all four days.

If you purchase a General Admission (GA) ticket, your only chance to get close to the main stage is on Thursday. And in GA, it gets seriously crowded! Forget trying to use the bathroom and then find your spot again if it was anywhere near up front. Click here to read more information about the types of tickets offered and which fits your needs and budget.

CCMF has lots of security.

And this isn’t a bad thing. When you have so many different people in one area, there needs to be a certain level of security and rules. You can read all the rules here, which I highly recommend doing. The security officers are in and around the festival to help keep things safe and fun.

When you enter, you and your bags will be checked. Check out this blog post to learn about the bag rules and more. Once in the festival, there are actual police officers and security workers just for the event. The security workers are placed throughout the festival and help to enforce the rules. Overall, they are pretty cool people as long as you don’t act stupid.

You can eat and drink there.

As I briefly mentioned earlier, there are vendors set up at CCMF. Food vendors set up and sell all sorts of yummy food and then there are drink vendors. Yes, you can buy adult beverages at CCMF and really get the party started! Beer, cocktails, wine, and more can be purchased there. They make it really easy to find the drinks with bars setup throughout the festival. Just know that you are going to pay a high price for a can of beer. I’m talking around $9 dollars and cocktails are even more.

The cool thing about paying for anything at CCMF is that the wristband you receive acts as your ticket and as your form of payment. You don’t have to worry about carrying cash or a card at all. You can find out all you need to know about them here. I do want to mention that you will need to bring an I.D. if you plan to drink. Show it at one of the designated stands, a person will give you another wristband showing that you are of age, and you’re good to go!

Now, I’ve seen firsthand that once you’ve had a few drinks and you don’t actually see the money have to leave your hand because of the wristbands, things can get crazy.

You’re going to encounter a drunk person or two.

Okay, it’ll be more than one or two because the amount of alcohol that is served at CCMF is mind blowing. As I said before, you can buy beer, cocktails, wine, anything you can think of. There is an alcoholic beverage for everyone (21 and older of course) and many people take advantage of the access to the alcohol. I mean, I get it. CCMF is a huge party with amazing music. It’s fun, but just be prepared to witness a lot of very drunk people.

Personally, my sister and I had a great time with basically everyone we met. I did get some alcohol and some fries dropped on me but I couldn’t get mad. It was an accident and once again, it’s so crowded there that it’s bound to happen. Just try to understand where you’re at, accept the crazies, and have fun.

Where are the bathrooms?

With that many people and everyone eating and drinking, there has to be bathrooms. Of course, CCMF has bathrooms but just be prepared. They are not nice stalls in a building. You’ll be doing your business in port-a-potties. Don’t get me wrong, they start out nice, and clean, and fresh. But when you have 20-30 thousand people in one area and make them all use port-a-potties in June in South Carolina…well, I’ll just let you use your imagination on what they quickly end up like.

I will say that CCMF provides a lot of port-a-potties for the event. They have a certain amount in the General Admission area that anyone can use. The VIP section has their own restrooms (still port-a-potties). I found these to be much cleaner than the GA ones because not as many people had access to them. Super VIP and higher sections, I believe have even nicer facilities.

You can score free stuff!

CCMF has more than just food and drink vendors. Numerous companies, businesses, etc. are spread throughout the event and most of them offer free items! My sister and I are suckers for free stuff so we left with more can koozies then any one person needs, free photos, fruit, drinks, pens, and more. There are also contests and games going on the whole weekend so if you’re into getting free stuff, check out all the vendors!

Okay, so now that I’ve talked about everything from security to port-a-potties, let me get to the reason why you’re actually interested in CCMF…the music!

CCMF has amazing music all day.

If you love country music, then CCMF is the festival to attend. I’ve been a country music fan my whole life. I grew up listening to Reba, Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney, and so many others and yes, I’m a 90s kid. Of course, I also listen to today’s country, and so getting to see your favorite artists all in one place for one price is incredible!

I’ve seen Billy Currington, Darius Rucker, Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney, Chris Lane, Toby Keith, Brett Young, Luke Bryan, and so many more because of CCMF. This music festival books some of today’s best country artists and even classic country artists like Montgomery Gentry and Alabama.

(You can check out more of the artists I saw from CCMF 2018 over on my Instagram in the highlights section!)

It’s not just country music.

At CCMF, the majority of the music you’ll hear is country. I mean, it is a country music festival after all. However, CCMF does have a DJ, usually DJ Silver, to entertain the crowd between some performances. He plays mixes of country, pop, rock, and everything else to get the crowd pumped up! I love it when he comes on the stage because he plays the good stuff. I’ve seen 20 thousand plus people all become just a small town girl as, “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey blares through the speakers. That’s unforgettable.

There are multiple stages.

I know I’ve mentioned the main stage numerous times throughout this blog post and my previous one on CCMF, but there are actually several other stages. Scattered about the festival are smaller stages that have artists performing all day long. These artists are not as well-known as the ones that will be on the main stage but they are still great to hear!

The problem with having multiple stages is trying to decide which ones to go see or staying at the main stage to see the bigger artists. I opted to stay at the main stage most of the time. However, if you are a fan of someone that hasn’t made it to the main stage performances yet, go see them! I know they want your support.

I’ve told you about the security, the vendors, and the music. Now for the last bit of information that you need to know.

You’re going to meet some really friendly people.

My sister and I have attended CCMF twice now and each year we have met some really great people. We’ve met people from all over the country and chatted with them as we all waited to see our favorite artists. We’ve shared our food and drinks and blankets with them too. Just be open and friendly and I guarantee you that you’ll make some super nice friends, even if it is just for the weekend.

I hope this insight to the Carolina Country Music Fest helps to show you what to expect there. As always, there are pros and cons to every event but if you respect the event, the people, and are friendly, you can truly have an amazing and unforgettable experience at CCMF.

Have you ever attended CCMF or are thinking about going? Let me know in the comments below! Who knows, maybe we’ve met!

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